Doppelgänger
by Wake Me Up When It's All Over
Summary: The legends of Egypt are not the only ones that have power in this world. Have you heard of the doppelgänger? At first, Yugi believes Yami is his own doppelgänger, but quickly finds out that is far from the truth. Only then does he encounter his true doppelgänger, in despair, for he has lost Yami. However, some things are strange. ABANDONED
1. Prologue

"Wouldn't you be my doppelgänger?" Yami looked up from where he sat. "What is a doppelgänger?" he asked curiously. From where he sat in front of his laptop, Yugi read aloud, "An apparition or double of a living person." Yami frowned, silent for a moment, before pointing out, "We do not look exactly the same." Yugi sighed. "Right," he agreed. "But…"

The boy gestured between them. "We look pretty similar, you know? Plus, I am living… and you're an apparition. An almost-double." Yami smiled benignly. "Then, I am your doppelgänger," he said soothingly. Yugi was silent, turning back to his laptop. However, Yami felt confusion and… fear?… emanating from the boy through their mind link.

"Yugi? What's wrong?" he asked. The connection was abruptly blocked as Yugi looked up, smiling. "Ah, sorry - I just thought it was cool, was all. I'm a bit disappointed," the boy replied. "It is cool," Yami replied uncertainly. He watched Yugi worriedly - after all, that still didn't explain the fear. Yugi nodded absently, returning his gaze to the laptop screen.

Then he closed it, before walking out without a word. The spirit tried to follow, before discovering Yugi left the puzzle behind. Yami wondered whether Yugi was that upset, but dismissed the idea. Instead he watched from the window as Yugi walked down the street, out of sight. The spirit waited for a few hours before Yugi finally returned. "Where were you?" Yami asked.

He had to ask, because Yugi was still blocking their mind link. The boy looked up at him, seeming tired. "Nowhere," he replied, lying down on his bed. Yami stared at him for a short while. What did he mean, 'nowhere'? Was he… the spirit was loathe to even think it, but was Yugi lying to him? He could understand maybe keeping a few secrets, but Yami was worried.

Yami possessed Yugi, slipping on the puzzle before turning on the laptop. The window was free of tabs, but Yami scrolled through the history, clicking on one that had "a+ghost+that+looks+like+me" in the web address. He had a bad feeling as he then clicked on the first result - it was purple, indicating Yugi had done the same thing. Yami scrolled down the page

The spirit scanned the words with growing horror, phrases such as "sensation of having glimpsed oneself in peripheral vision, in a position where there is no chance that it could have been a reflection," "a sinister form of bilocation and are regarded by some to be harbingers of bad luck," and "seeing one's own doppelgänger is an omen of death" caught his eye.

He shakily deleted the history of him being on the computer before closing the laptop, leaning back against the chair. This was a whole other religion… one different from Egypt, where the Millennium Items originated from. But an omen of death? No wonder Yugi had been afraid. It broke Yami's heart that the boy could think that way of him.

He gently laid Yugi on the bed before leaving his body. The next morning, both of them pretended nothing was wrong. Yugi re-opened the mind link, betraying no hint of unease whatsoever. Neither of them brought it up, neither of them forced the issue. Still, Yami was afraid. Was he really… going to cause Yugi's death? Unease stirred in his own heart, hidden from Yugi.


	2. Encounter

Yami had never been his doppelgänger. While Yugi was relieved… at the same time, he was sad. They had never been connected in such a way. And now… the spirit was gone. Forever. Yugi stared at his hands in his room, feeling broken somehow. Yami had left him. Atemu had left him. After everything they had done together, it didn't seem fair.

"It's not fair." Yugi looked up. He wasn't startled or afraid, just empty inside as he regarded his true doppelgänger standing before him. The doppelgänger smiled at him. "That's what you were thinking, right?" Yugi nodded silently. The apparition crossed the distance between them, kneeling down to look up at Yugi. The boy was still.

Finally the doppelgänger said, "You know my existence means your death will come soon, right?" Yugi didn't respond. The apparition sounded sad as he stated, "You would welcome it… the state you're in." At this the boy's lips twitched into a despairing smile. "Yes," Yugi agreed. The doppelgänger reached out. "If you take my hand, it will be hastened."

"Do you want me dead?" Yugi asked with a laugh. The sound faded quickly. The doppelgänger shook his head. "No," he told Yugi, "I just don't want you to hurt anymore." Yugi knew the apparition could be lying. But he took the doppelgänger's hand anyway. As they grasped each other's hands, Yugi was startled to see the doppelgänger's eyes were blue.

Then his vision went black. He couldn't feel anything. Or see, or hear. It was darkness and silence and nothingness he found himself in. However, it was familiar to him. Yugi realized he was in the Shadow Realm. "I'm home," he said. A Kuriboh hopped over to him. Holding the brown furball, the boy chuckled as Kuriboh nuzzled him happily.

"Yugi? What are you doing here?" Yugi spun around to see Yami stepping towards him, seeming shocked. Kuriboh leapt out of Yugi's arms to growl at the pharaoh. Holding his hands up, Yami stopped. Meanwhile, Yugi was frozen. He'd hoped to die. Failing that, he'd hoped for peace. He should have known better - this man was always hurting him.

He felt his doppelgänger's presence behind him, though he knew the apparition wasn't visible. "He's the one hurting you," he whispered to Yugi. "I'm sorry, I didn't know he was here." Yugi gritted his teeth. "It's okay," he hissed under his breath. "This is what I need right now." More creatures from Duel Monsters faded into existence around them.

There was something strange, though - there were two of each. The ones gathered behind Yami were normal, but Yugi noticed the ones behind him all were slightly darker than their counterparts. "Wait, Yugi," the pharaoh tried desperately, but Yugi smiled, holding Kuriboh tightly to him. It was the only one who hadn't gone to Yami's side, leaving Yugi.

"Let's begin," Yugi said softly. His monsters surged forward, clashing with Yami's monsters. Amidst the chaos, Yugi lost track of who was who. Then his doppelgänger appeared before him. "Are you still in pain?" the doppelgänger asked. His tone was unreadable. Yugi ran an eye over the fight around them. "No," the boy murmured, surprised.

"I feel… good." His doppelgänger looked, if possible, sadder than before. "I'm sorry," he said before vanishing once more. Yugi ignored the apparition, focusing on where he had seen Yami last. Exhaling, he carefully made his way through the monsters as they fought fiercely, aiming for Yami. He broke through, face-to-face with the pharaoh.


	3. Confrontation

Yugi stared at the pharaoh for a long time. Yami seemed to fidget uneasily before saying, "Yugi… why are you here? Where are your friends?" Yugi laughed. "I took my doppelgänger's hand," he said. He saw the pharaoh recall the memory. He watched the understanding dawn on his face. "Why would you want to die?!" Yami cried out, his eyes widening.

The boy shrugged, holding the Kuriboh tighter. "To get away from you… from the memories of you." Suddenly, behind Yami materialized both the Dark Magician and the Dark Magician Girl. Or rather, Mahad and Mana. "Get back," the girl shouted, grabbing Yami. Mahad placed himself in front of the pharaoh, raising his staff towards Yugi.

"Wait!" Yami argued, struggling to break free. "It's not what you think! Let me go, Mana!" Yugi raised an eyebrow. Then he smiled. From the tumult surrounding them, a looming figure was suddenly shoved across their little space of peace. It knocked into Mahad, flying past. It's bulk was so large, the man didn't even slow the monster down.

Mana stared incredulously at where Mahad had been standing moments ago. "Mahad!" she cried. Yami was equally horrified, but that was due to the sight of Yugi laughing. "Stop it," the pharaoh said desperately. "Please, Yugi, you don't know what you're doing?" Yugi's laughter stopped abruptly, his face turning cold. "I don't?" he said quietly, barely heard.

His doppelgänger suddenly appeared in front of him. "You do have to stop," the apparition said firmly. Yugi frowned. "Why?" he asked petulantly. His blue-eyed counterpart stepped closer, searching Yugi's gaze. "Because… I realized this is hurting you more," he said finally. Yugi hissed. "But it doesn't feel like it's hurting! It feels way better then pining after him!"

He stabbed a finger at Yami. "Why don't you take my place in the real world? Just let me have my fun!" The doppelgänger froze. "Don't tempt me," the doppelgänger said slowly. Yugi frowned. "What do you mean?" The doppelgänger glanced nervously at Yami. "Can… I take… your place?" The boy nodded impatiently, still holding the Kuriboh.

Suddenly Yami gasped as the doppelgänger surged towards him. A swirling vortex of darkness appeared behind the pharaoh as the doppelgänger pushed him into it. As they vanished through the portal, to Yugi's eyes they seemed to merge. Then it was silent. Yami's monsters had disappeared, leaving only Yugi's shadowed creatures around him.

Yami fell with a thud on the floor. The first thing he noticed was that he was corporeal. The second thing he noticed that it was Yugi's room he was in. "What happened?" he mumbled, standing up. He looked around, then realized he was shorter than he remembered. He looked down briefly, then did a double-take, realizing he had Yugi's form.

It wasn't like when he possessed Yugi, either. He was Yugi, right down to the smallest detail. He darted out into the hallway, bumping into Yugi's grandpa. "Yugi!" he laughed. "Where are you off to in such a rush?" Yami stared blankly at the old man before muttering, "Bathroom." He headed down the hallway, hurrying into the bathroom and locked the door.

He stared at himself in the mirror. He was Yugi. Trying not to panic, Yami tried to think back to what had happened. In the midst of the monsters fighting, he hadn't heard everything clearly. He'd seen… Yugi. That much was certain. And then… there was another Yugi. Who had pushed him into that vortex… which had him wound up here, as Yugi.


	4. Confusion

Then Yami realized something. He wasn't exactly Yugi… the eyes were different. It was slight, but his irises weren't quite purple. It was like mixing red and blue paint - each color ends up standing out even as they blend together. He blinked to make sure. It was a subtle difference, one he was confident no one would notice. But still… it was odd.

Then again, the whole situation was. Before Yugi showed up, the last thing he remembered was darkness. Then Yugi had entered the Shadow Realm, and the boy had acted strangely. Who was that other Yugi…? Automatically Yami thought of a doppelgänger. But he recalled blue eyes on the figure. Why would a doppelgänger have different eyes?

He sat down on the tiled floor, his mind reeling. Too many unexplainable things happened. What should he do? What should he focus on? Should he tell Yugi's friends about this? Obviously he was in the human world, Yugi's grandpa was here, along with the game shop. However… he had no way of knowing how much time had passed since he left.

Yami glanced again at himself. Yugi didn't look that much different, but to be fair, the boy hadn't really changed since… what, elementary school? Junior high? Either way, at least the boy's grandpa was alive, so not that much time passed. He sighed, readying himself. He opened the door, deciding not to say anything for the moment about the switch.

After all, he couldn't have people thinking Yugi was crazy. Sneaking back into the room, Yami lay down, closing his eyes. He would figure this out in the morning. For now, he was tired, and according to the glowing clock face he had two days of a weekend to find out how Yugi's life was going. Before he figured out how to tackle school itself.

Thinking these things, Yami fell asleep. It seemed like only moments later his - well, Yugi's - phone went off, waking him. Groaning, Yami rolled over to shut off the alarm. To his surprise, instead of the default label "Alarm" the text read "It's Another Day Today" with a blank-faced emoji at the end. Frowning, he turned it off, sitting up to glance around.

Finally he stood, peeking out the doorway. "Morning, Grandpa," he called out. It was silent, then Yugi's grandpa called back, "Good morning, Yugi!" Yami smiled slightly. At least Yugi hadn't been moping… judging from his grandpa's reaction. Changing, he walked down the stairs, waving as he exited the store. "Where are you going, Yugi?" the old man asked.

Yami froze. He didn't actually know - his body… rather, Yugi's body had been moving on it's own. Muscle memory? Or was he just restless? Either way… "I was just going out for a walk, Grandpa," he replied, closing the door. Through the glass the old man waved. Yami kept walking, not really sure what he intended to do. Thankfully, he didn't get lost.

Grateful for the years spent with Yugi, Yami took another right, walking absently. Suddenly, he paused, looking up at the two men blocking the alleyway. One had a scar running down his right eye, the other on his left. Yami immediately decided to call them Left Scar and Right Scar. "We've been waiting, Yugi," Left Scar said threateningly.

Yami frowned. Why would these two thugs know Yugi? "Ah," he said, at a loss for words. Right Scar held out his hand. "Where's our payment?" he demanded. Yami hesitated slightly. "How… much was it?" he hedged. The man narrowed his eyes. "$56," he spat. "Did you forget?" He stared menacingly. Yami stalled, searching through his pockets.


End file.
